Why you gotta make the little cubs cry, Red? Especially when they're just trying to help you.

Pretty interesting technology, though. How does it keep track of how much blood you have? I don't think I've heard of something in our world that could do that, but then again I don't know much about medicine and all that.

TinyVoices wrote:Pretty interesting technology, though. How does it keep track of how much blood you have?

Well, its another of those magical, rune-based devices similar to the com-mirrors, where the runics can sustain a spell without the intervention of a mage, and in the case of medical devices, also give feedback based on the results of a diagnostic spell.

Seeing as that wasn't very clear in the original writing, perhaps I should go edit that along with the other stuff from your PM.

Hey everyone, hope y'all haven't forgotten about us FanFic people in the midst of the writing competition! Enjoy more misadventures of the B-team! ( )

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[REDACTED] turned around, riled up by the other Keidran's raised voice. "What am I doing? I'm showing that little piece of lint his place! Can't have him pushing into other peoples business whenever he feels like it!"

"Or maybe you're one of those arrogant skin-rags who simply can't stand accepting help from a Keidran, of all things?" The newcomer spat.

At this point, [REDACTED]'s blood was really boiling.

"You're all the same aren't you, every single one of you flea-bitten dogs..." [REDACTED] turned back to the two girls. "Come on, lets get out of here. I don't want to waste my time arguing with a..." He stopped short, and muttered the final word under his breath as he started to walk away.

The older Keidran reached out a clawed hand and grabbed the angry human by the back of his shirt, stopping him in his tracks. "Ok, three things. One, your pronunciation of that Keidran word is TERRIBLE. That always pisses me off. Two, you have no idea how much that insult hurts. And three..." With a jerk of his arm, the Keidran spun [REDACTED] around. A split second later, he had delivered a right hook straight to the human's face. And then the fight was on.

"Pfft, boys..." Maren remarked in disgust as the two scuffled and scrapped. Looking up from where he had taken a seat in Karen's lap, Theta's face fell once more as he saw his older cousin taking swings at [REDACTED]. "North! No!" He cried.

Karen looked down in a moment of oblivious confusion. "North? That's an odd name..."

Theta turned a worried face to look at Karen. "Well, Nathan, but erry'one calls him North."

The fight had escalated, with [REDACTED] barely dodging the wild swipes from North's claws. A crowd had started to gather, wanting to intervene, but the ferocity of the fight held them back.

"Why do they call him North?" Karen asked, wanting to distract Theta from the fight and keep him from crying again.

"Cos' his sister is South. And North and South are opposites!" Theta replied. Suddenly his expression brightened considerably. "I know! I can call for South! She'll stop them!"
And with that, he pulled the little crystal on his necklace out of his shirt, and clasped it in his hands.

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Enforcement officer Sarah Dakota stood by her post, on the corner of Bowman and 4th, surveying the scene before her. Everything was calm, citizens going about their business, and streetcars clanking along, ferrying people about. Hardly anyone paid attention to her. The shock of pink hair atop her head, contrasting with the dark blue fabric of her enforcers uniform, only drew a few quick glances.

With nothing better to do, she opened up her Slugger, checking the two stun rounds inside. Each still glowed with the faint light of electrical energy trapped inside. The trigger mechanism was in working order. Everything checked out. Satisfied, she snapped the gun shut.

A sudden sense of uneasiness swept over her, as a small voice echoed in her head. <South! South, I need you!>

South rolled her eyes. Great. Her whiney little cousin. <What is it, Theta?>

<North is fighting again! Come stop him!>

<Where are you? Don't you know I'm on duty right now? I can't come if you're outside my patrol zone!>

<Uh, well, we're at... um... Hey, Ow!>

Loosing patience, South simply reached across the link and took the thought right out of Theta's head. <Cisco and 6th. Right on the edge.> South interrupted. <You're damn lucky; I'll be right there.>

<Stop pushing into my head when I talk to you! It hurts!> Theta complained.

<Think faster, or I'm gonna think for you!> South retorted as she took off running.

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[REDACTED] struggled on the ground, grappling with the Keidran he'd angered just moments ago. While he'd managed to get the damn animal pinned, the Keidran had gotten his hands at his neck and was trying to throttle him. Somehow, getting his feet under him, he managed to break away and tackled the Keidran to the floor completely. And that was when a huge surge of electricity crashed through him, arcing across into the Keidran he was fighting.

"Alright people go home! Nothing to see here anymore. Just my idiot brother, damn him..." South called out, dispersing the gaggle of individuals that had gathered around. Reaching down, she quickly restrained both North and [REDACTED], and helped the two of them stagger to their feet. "As for you two, you're coming with me." [REDACTED] was too dazed to realize that he'd just been handcuffed by a Keidran, and stumbled along blindly. North only glared at his sibling, the static from the shock making his fur stand on end.

"Hey, what about us?" Maren asked before the trio was out of earshot. South turned back to look at them. "You two?" She asked "You're free to go. Simple as that."

"Yeah, but go where? We, uh, we're lost."Maren explained.

"They were gonna go to the Century Inn!" Theta piped up. "An' I was gonna help them, but then that guy started being really mean... She's nice though!" He concluded, pointing at Karen.

South considered this for a moment, before turning back to Maren and Karen. "Well, you two seem pretty decent; you can look after him for now. Theta, you go along and help them. I'll be back at sundown when I'm off duty to pick you up."

Maren rolled her eyes as Karen and Theta started jumping in excitement while South headed off with her two captives. "Great, seems like we just traded one animal for another." Karen gave her sister a rare frown, causing Maren to grin sheepishly as she amended her statement. "But, the new one is a lot cuter. Fine, lets go."

MUDPUNISHER wrote:cant be certain but when your director said "our situation is dire" where you thinking of the director from RVB?

FINALY! Someone noticed! I actually tried to make the first bit of the prologue resemble the season 9 trailer, but not too much, lol . I still want this to be as original as a fanfic can be. (But there are other cameos and inspirations from RvB, try finding them all! )

Laptop fixed a while ago, and now the update is finally here! Read, review, and enjoy!

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Zen panted and gasped for breath as he recovered from his training bout with Jenna, one of the Basitin Alpha Guard members. He'd thought he'd seen fast when Kara has thrashed his sibling then moved on to him the first day, but Jenna was something else entirely. Well, to be precise, she was a blur. A blur that easily dished out repeated hits that left him staggering.

Zen spoke up as Jenna sat down next to him on the bench. "Dang, you're fast. Can't believe we were never matched up for practice rounds until now."

Jenna only rolled her eyes. "Well hello, Captain Obvious. I was running freaking circles around ya! And then before you knew it, BONK! That's what failure tastes like!"

"Don't worry, I do that to everyone." Jenna paused. "Well, almost everyone. Pay attention to Kara in the next fight."

"The next fight? What about the fight she and I had on my first day here?" Zen asked, puzzled by the comment.

"Well, yeah, there's that, but you wouldn't believe the tricks that she has. Just have a look."

Zen turned back to the training ring, absentmindedly running his finger across a small scar on his muzzle. Between Sage's medical skill and the new medical techniques from the Confederacy, it was the only one he was left with after his little introductory ordeal. He still wasn't sure what to think about what Kara did to him. Physically, he wasn't really affected; the medical crew had seen to that. But it certainly had changed him. He recalled his blurry, fear-soaked thoughts from that day. What had Kara been going on about, again? Oh, right, something about how he had killed her, but how she wound up with a new life instead. Zen couldn't help but wonder if the same had happened to him on that fateful day, as his past caught up to him. The cocky braggart he once was, was dead. His cold, efficient thirst for the bottom line on each contract was dead. And in their place was... what?

The bell that signaled the start of the training round shook him from his thoughts. On the training floor, Kara was about to square off against the mysterious "Alpha 6", an as yet unnamed Basitin recruit who had joined about a month before. Apparently some protocol required any Basitins coming to live in the Confederacy to hide their identities beneath a mask and helmet for several months, something to do with avoiding defection charges. Zen hadn't really been paying attention when Six had explained himself.

The fight started without warning, as the Basitin threw the first punch. Kara dodged left, backflipping away. Out of the blur of motion, two Kara's landed on the floor. Zen noticed the glow from Kara's bandoleer of mana crystals.

"Is she using an illusion spell?" Zen asked. "Isn't that a bit unfair, going against a Basitin?"

"Templars aren't gonna care about "fair" Zen." Jenna replied. "We're all probably going to deal with that kind of thing out on the field. Better get used to it when people aren't trying to kill you."

In the meantime, the Basitin was taking a beating, unable to over come the split second advantage that the illusion afforded Kara. Striking out, he had almost no way of telling whether the blow would connect, or simply fly through the air as the illusion flickered away.

Lashing out desperately, Six threw his fist forwards, in the blind hope that he could go right through the illusion and actually land a solid blow. Which was why he was taken completely by surprise as Kara caught his fist mid-swing. Even though his face was concealed beneath his helmet, his shock was evident. In his hesitation, a brutal right hook from Kara sent him to the floor. And sent his helmet into the air. Staggering to his feet, a look of utter befuddlement was plastered on the Basitin's face as he patted his hands on his head, not comprehending that his helmet was gone.

A sudden jolt of recognition jumped over from his sibling's side of the link. <Hey, I've seen that guy before!> Natani thought to Zen. <He was some big-shot that came out on the docks when the Eric's ship landed at the Islands. Hugged Keith too, I really have no idea why.>

<Dang, no wonder they have that identity protocol around here; you sound so hostile about that hug!> Zen teased mentally as the Basitin spoke with Kara, gesturing at the helmet and shaking his head.

"Zen, get over here! Jenna, run around the base and tell everyone whats going on." Kara called out.

"Wait, I thought protocol said..." Jenna started as she walked towards the exit.

"Identity protection protocol zero-one-zero-five is null and void when the identity of the person in question is revealed either by accident or by design." The Basitin interrupted. "Besides, I hated having to wear the damn thing, and it was downright useless protocol anyway."

"What? When did you talk with the Director?" Kara asked. "And why didn't I know about it?"

"Why would you need to know about it?" The Basitin replied. "Look, I know you expect me to follow the rules and everything, chain of command and all that, but that just doesn't fit the bill with me. Never have, never will." He turned to the rest of the Alphas as they entered. "Just give it a rest, Kara." He continued. "Even you think zero-one-zero-five is a load of bull. Besides, I think some introductions are in order."

Kara didn't bother with a response, skipping right to addressing the rest of the Alphas. "Alright everyone! Before we received our two newest recruits, we had a masked figure show up with a letter from the Director, referring to the mysterious individual as "Alpha Six". Now that protocol zero-one-zero-five no longer applies, we actually get to see who he is."

The Basitin grinned at the looks of recognition showing on some of the faces before him. "Well, I know who all of you are, so let's cut to the chase: The name's Nickolai Alaric. Eastern Basitin, and former Master General. After some internal conflict on the Islands, I was presumed dead, and was offered an opportunity by the Confederacy. Unbound by Eastern rules and regulations, I took that opportunity and here I am today. So, any questions?"

But before anyone could say anything, an alarm started blaring. A voice echoed out from the runic mirrors on the walls: "ATTENTION ALL ALPHAS! THERE HAS BEEN A BREACH IN MINING SECTOR 17-B! THERE ARE TEMPLAR IN THE TUNNELS! THEY ARE NOT TO ESCAPE, CAPTURE OR KILL AS NEEDED!"

Jenna nudged Zen, who was standing in shock alongside his sibling. "You two as well. There's only so much the firing range and training arenas can teach you." She said. "Now get going, we don't want to keep those Templar pretty-boys waiting!"

And just because I'm on a roll, here's a quick something I wrote while taking a break from studying for my chem exam.

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"Crap, crap, crap..." Zen muttered as he frantically pulled part of his new Combat Uniform over his head. He'd already taken way too long with the pants and leg armor, and was barely keeping pace with the rest of the Alphas. He hated how glaring his inexperience was, despite the weeks of intense training.

The combat uniforms weren't exactly full suits of armor, and had been quite confusing when Zen had first seen them. The first layers looked almost like a set of normal pants and a shirt. The angular plating that went over it was hinged so it could give protection on multiple sides, and left wide open gaps for the sake of mobility. Fortunately, those gaps weren't as vulnerable as Zen initially thought.

Jenna had explained to him, at great length, how more of the confederacy's signature rune-based magic was used to alter the sap of some tree in such a way that it hardened once a blow struck it, only to turn liquid again after the attack. The pants from the first layer turned out to be just pants, but treated with the so-called "impact resin" to become "impact cloth". Any jab or slash at the gaps would get stopped short. The shirt was more durable, with two layers of impact cloth on either side of a layer of chainmail. With the impact cloth to stop arrows and the mail giving more protection against larger blades, the only plating that was needed was along the arms and legs. In fights against powerful opponents like combat mages, a chestplate was equipped, using more runics to sustain wards for mitigating magical attacks. Topping it all was a helmet, fitted for his wolfen head, and packed with even more runics that fed crucial data to a visor display. At the very least, the combat uniform's relative simplicity let Zen and Natani dash into the weapons locker only half a minute behind the rest of the team.

At least grabbing weapons off the rack wasn't as much of a time waster; he'd already spent hours down here alongside Jason, learning how to clean and prep his C-10 Elite Carbine and his C-2 revolver. Among the more interesting pieces of confederate tech, these weapons used power-stones, a mineral unique to the ore seams beneath the Parapet mountains, as ammunition. Charged with the heat and pressure of geological processes, the two guns unleashed bolts of thermal and kinetic energy with every trigger-pull. As he picked up each weapon, the runics in his helmet registered the guns, putting up an icon and ammunition count in periphery of his visor. A swat to his hand halted his reach for a belt festooned with brass spheres, their skeletal structure revealing the mana crystals inside. "No. You do not want to mess with those at this point." Sage said sternly. "You're more likely to hurt yourself with them and I've already spent enough time putting you back together after your incident with Kara." Zen left the belt alone; to be perfectly honest, he wasn't sure what they were. He was just grabbing anything that seemed useful.

Assembling next to a vacant cable-cart, Kara called out to the Alphas. "Right, all together now! This cart here will take us straight to the mines. Hold on tight, you don't want to end up like..."

"Let's just go already!" Jenna interrupted, pushing past and taking a seat. She shifted about uncomfortably in her seat as the gaze of every Alpha fell on her. "What?! We've got miners to save!"

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Just a little intro to some of the equipment and such. Exam is on Tuesday, I'd better get back to studying.

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After a terrifyingly fast ride, the Alphas calmly stepped off the cart. Zen and Natani had to unclench their fists from the safety rails, staggering to catch up. Large machines took up one wall of the loading junction, large cogwheels and pistons silent and still beneath the glow of the mana-lights bolted to the ceiling. Kara flipped herself up to the control platform, bypassing the stairs. It was clear that the Templar had passed through this cavern: A feline mineworker was impaled on one of the levers, his face still contorted in pain and terror. Jet-black burn marks were scattered across the walls. Zen took a few tentative sniffs at the air. The metallic tang of blood was mixed in with acrid fear and bitter, hateful aggression. Zen frowned as they set out down one of the side tunnels. Another scent had surfaced but it was too faint to identify. Reaching an intersection, the group stopped; shouts and screams echoed from further ahead. Kara spared a bit of mana to send thoughts directly to the Alphas. <We’re close. I can hear them, you can hear them, we know they’re in trouble. Jenna, take point on the center tunnel. Markus and I will be right behind out. Jason, Sage, Alaric, go left. Kyle, Zen, Natani, take the right tunnel. Now move, move, move!!!> She exclaimed.

Jenna charged first, drawing two bright red C-2’s. “YAAA! LET’S WASTE ‘EM!” Markus roared in agreement as he followed, flipping his combat mortar off his back and into his hands. Kara wordlessly sprinted off, hands and bandoleer of mana crystals glowing blue with barely-contained magical energy. Zen lost sight of the others as he followed Kyle down the tunnel. Glancing at his sibling, an imperceptible nod told Zen what to do. This wouldn’t be like the last time they tried to mind merge. Right here, right now, they had better training, had better equipment, and most importantly, actually had each other. Opening the link, he felt a surge of sensations, sharpening his senses and boosting his awareness. Suddenly, the tunnel opened up into another cavern. Several exits had been sealed off by glowing walls of magic. White-robed figures dashed about, lashing out with searing bolts of magic as trapped miners ran about in a panic. Time seemed to slow down Zen raised his carbine to line up his first shot. The moment the sights landed on one of the snow-white grim reapers, he pulled the trigger. In the same instant, the templar’s expression changed, from hateful determination to kill, to blank shock at the sudden pain, as though a white-hot spike had just been slammed into him. Zen, emboldened by his first strike, squeezed off more shots as he ran. But both of these missed, as time sped back up and everything turned to chaos. Kara was leaping from platform to platform, unleashing volleys of ice needles at the enemy. Two limp figures, water and blood dripping from a multitude of frigid spines, spoke to her grim handiwork. A templar ran by, his robes in flames after being ignited by Jenna’s flare guns, while and almighty crash echoed through the chamber as several crates came tumbling down, dislodged by a blast from Markus’ mortar.

Unfortunately for Zen, a single shot wasn’t quite enough to bring down a templar soldier; a flash of alarm from Natani alerted him to the turn of the tables, as the templar took a swing at him with his sword. In a futile gesture, Zen instinctively tried to put his carbine in the way, but the blade simply sheared through the metal and mechanisms of the weapon, letting the templar land a blow right on one the gaps in Zen’s armor. Thankfully, the impact fabric lived up to its name, keeping the blade from slicing into Zen’s shoulder. Despite this, the blow still sent Zen staggering backwards. But before his foe could close the distance and land a killing blow, several shots rang out, stopping the enemy in his track and dropping him to the floor. Natani walked over, putting away his sidearm and helping his brother up as the battle wound down. Any miners left alive had fled long ago. The few templar that were left huddled behind magical barriers, protecting themselves but leaving them unable to attack.

Seeing that the last of the templar’s were contained, Kara walked up to the ring of magic shields. “Attention Templar! Stand down, you’re surrounded! There is no escape, surrender now and you will not be harmed!” She shouted.

“Yeah right! You’ll probably just kill us the moment we drop our shields!” One of the mages retorted.

Jason stepped forward. “We are not going to kill you, because we’re not the uncivilized brutes you seem to think we are. You will be escorted back to the surface and taken into custody. At that point, our superiors decide what to do with you.”

An utterly dumbfounded expression crossed a younger templar’s face as he realized just whom he and his colleagues were dealing with. “Oh, hell no… It can’t be! You’re them, aren’t you?”

Jason gave him a skeptical glance, gesturing for the templar to continue.

Kara rolled her eyes. “Well, aren’t you a sharp one? Good observation. Very perceptive!” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

A silence followed, as the lead templar weighed his options. Finally, he decided to come quietly. “Alright, men. You heard the Keidran. We go with them.”

Although the walk back to the transport cart was uneventful, the tension in the air was obvious, with both the Templar and the Alphas on edge. From the start of the ride to the end, five of the six captives sat stone-faced and impassive. The sixth looked around in a combination of wonder and fear, intimidated by the Alphas’ armor and weapons, but intrigued by the way the Alphas worked together. As Zen held open the door to a cell atop a mana sink, it became obvious that this youngster was an odd one out among the other Templar; picking up on their emotions through scent, Zen knew he was the only one with more than a mere ounce of regret.